Classical Music Playlist, June 19, 2026With "Autochthonous" defined as ”indigenous rather than descended from migrants or colonists,” the “Autochthonous” Symphony No. 4 by William Grant Still that depicts the American people and our fusion of musical cultures is today's Midday Masterpiece
Classical Music Playlist, October 24, 2025Celebrating his 90th birthday today, American pianist and retired Cornell professor Malcolm Bilson performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 on a fortepiano of the composer’s time for today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 23, 2025The entire Richard Strauss tone poem "Also sprach Zarathustra," with its famous opening "Sunrise" movement (as heard in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey''), is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 22, 2025With two contemplative middle movements that reflect the sad year he had while composing it, the Piano Trio No. 2 by Robert Schumann begins and ends in cheerful moods. It’s today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 21, 2025Tchaikovsky found in the “Suite” format a freedom to compose in different styles within the same piece unlike the more restrictive conventions of a “Symphony.” Tchaikovsky’s “Suite No. 2” is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 20, 2025Danish composer Niels Gade wrote his Symphony No. 5 as a birthday gift for his wife. It’s an unusual symphony in that it features a piano. It’s today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 17, 2025Autumn is a great time to get married so maybe find some inspiration for a harvest-themed ceremony in the “Rustic Wedding Symphony” by Hungarian composer Karl Goldmark, today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 16, 2025With its evocations of snow-covered mountains, sleigh rides on starry nights and summer scenes, the arctic Lapland region is depicted in the Symphony #3 by Swedish composer Wilhelm Peterson-Berger for today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 15, 2025Finnish composer & clarinetist Bernhard Crusell was very proud of his Clarinet Concerto No. 2, the written score of it is even included in a painted portrait of him. It’s today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 14, 2025Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7, written for Soviet Children’s Radio but with an underlying sense of melancholy as he endured financial distress, illness and his own death, is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 13, 2025A free-form composition in which the “dumka” musical form is exploited into both brooding and cheerful territories, the Piano Trio No. 4, “Dumky,” by Antonín Dvořák is today's Midday Masterpiece.
